Dixie Farm Road widening to start Aug. 2

COURTNEY BAJUSZ

Published 7:00 pm, Wednesday, October 25, 2006

Drivers hoping to see more of Dixie Farm Road will get their wish this August, thanks to a widening contract TxDOT awarded May 9.

On Aug. 2, the winning bidder, W.W. Webber Contractors, will begin Phase 1 of the project, widening Dixie Farm from two lanes to four from Beamer to 1500 feet south of FM 518, with completion set for October 2008.

Phase 2, which will be bid on in September 2007, will continue the widening to SH 35.

During the initial widening phase, drivers needing to connect to I-45 or the Beltway should consider detouring along Pearland Parkway or FM 2351, Jennifer Phan, Pearland projects director, said.

If project expedition negotiations succeed, however, normal traffic could appear on Dixie Farm as early as 18 or 19 months, not the slated 26.

"We're still investigating ways to (speed up the project)," Phan said. "We're working directly with the contractor to see what we can do."

One idea volleyed around is closing some of the intersecting subdivision streets during the open-road construction.

A project almost 10 years in the making, both phases have pooled the resources of several entities - Pearland, TxDOT and Brazoria County shouldering construction costs and Harris County providing some of the right-of-way.

Funding for Phase 1 construction, about $21.3 million, includes a $2.8 million grant acquired through Congressman Tom DeLay's office; and Phase 2, about $17.5 million, draws $2.1 million from a Brazoria County bond election and $5.4 million from TxDOT.

Pearland's contribution to Phase 2 is slated for the May 2007 bond election.

TXDOT is funding about 80 percent of the project, and Pearland 20 percent.